Interactive video tour system editor

ABSTRACT

A computer system, method, and apparatus for editing an interactive image video tour. The system may include a computer including an image editor for providing a visual program interface for editing an interactive image video tour; a database in communication with the computer containing data associated with a plurality of images comprising a portion of the interactive image video tour; and a viewer in communication with the computer for displaying the plurality of images. The method may include selecting a data file that includes image data and displaying an image associated therewith on a computer, the data file being stored in an image database containing a plurality of images for creating an interactive image video tour; and modifying one aspect of the image data contained in the selected data file. The apparatus may include a computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to perform a method for editing an interactive image video tour.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/608,761 filed Jun. 27, 2003, which claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No.60/391,960 filed Jun. 27, 2002.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to editors for creating and editingsoftware applications and more specifically to editors for creating andediting software applications for interactive image video tours.

2. Description of the Related Art

Image video tour software applications provide users with image videotours of a predetermined facility using a software program that convertsa series of digitized images gathered in and around the facility into avirtual image video tour of the facility. Such image video tours havebeen created, for example, for nuclear power plants, schools and otherfacilities. There are circumstances under which emergency personnel,rescuers, police units, and the like, need to familiarize themselveswith a particular facility. Video tour editors provide such personnelwith a way to view a virtual tour of a facility on a computer monitorbefore entering a potentially dangerous environment in or around thefacility.

There exists software for creating and editing image video tour editorsfor use with image video tour viewer software programs. Such editorsprovide an easy-to-use, visual interface for creating image video toursthat can be viewed with the viewer. Such editors also can be used foradding or replacing existing pictures in tours that have already beencreated. Tour photos and maps are placed in specified directories. Toursare created by dragging and dropping thumbnails (small versions of eachpicture) of the photos and maps from the specified directories into aviewer, adding descriptions, and placing locational arrows on the maps.Components and related information, for example electronic dosimeters,telemetric dosimeters, Area Radiation Monitors (hereinafter “ARM”), andContinuous Air Monitors (hereinafter “CAM”) overlays also may becombined with the images to form a portion of a video tour.

Related art image video tour editors, however, lack various features forcreating and editing more sophisticated image video tours. For example,related art image video tours lack application programming interfaces(API), including a Dynamic Linked Library (DLL) that provides access forother programs to various functions within an editor. These functionsinclude, for example, providing tour lines on various maps associatedwith the tours, tour points on the maps, hyperlinks on the maps,coordinating arrow positions with a primary photo, auto position androtation of arrows for alternate photos, site plans, notes associatedwith components, and component searching capability. Therefore, there isa need in the art for an interactive image video tour program that canprovide one or more of these features, among others, for creating andediting interactive image video tours.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, an embodiment of the invention provides acomputer system for editing an interactive image video tour. The systemincludes a computer including the image editor providing a visualprogram interface for editing an interactive image video tour associatedwith a predetermined facility; a database in communication with thecomputer containing data associated with a plurality of imagesassociated with the predetermined facility comprising a portion of theinteractive image video tour; and a viewer in communication with thecomputer for displaying the plurality of images of the predeterminedfacility for enabling a user to view a virtual interactive tour of thepredetermined facility.

Another aspect of an embodiment of the invention provides a method ofediting portions of an interactive image video tour. The method includesdisplaying a thumbnail view of an image associated with a predeterminedfacility in a first portion of the image editor, the image being storedin a database in the form of a data file comprising image data;selecting the thumbnail view of the image; transferring the selectedthumbnail view of the image to a second portion of the image editor; andpositioning the selected thumbnail view of the image in a predeterminedorder according to a tour layout plan of the predetermined facilitywithin the second portion of the image editor, the predetermined ordercorresponding to a position of the image within the tour layout of aninteractive image video tour of the predetermined facility.

A further aspect of an embodiment of the invention provides a method ofcreating and editing portions of an interactive image video tour. Themethod includes transferring a data file stored in an image database toa memory of a computer, the image database containing a plurality ofdata files representing a plurality of images associated with aninteractive image video tour of a predetermined facility, each of theplurality of data files comprising image data for displaying an imageassociated with a portion of the predetermined facility on a viewerassociated with the computer; displaying a thumbnail view of the imagein a first portion of the image editor; dragging the thumbnail view ofthe image from the first portion of the image editor to a second portionof the image editor; positioning the thumbnail view of the image in apredetermined position according to a tour layout plan of thepredetermined facility in the second portion of the image editor; anddisplaying in the second portion of the image editor the image selectedfor use in the interactive image video tour of the predeterminedfacility.

Still another aspect of an embodiment of the invention provides a methodof editing portions of an interactive image video tour. The methodincludes selecting a data file comprising image data and displaying animage associated therewith on a display monitor of a computer, the datafile being stored in an image database containing a plurality of imagesfor creating an interactive image video tour of a predeterminedfacility; and modifying one aspect of the image data contained in theselected data file.

Still a further aspect of an embodiment of the invention provides acomputer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling acomputer system to perform a method for editing an interactive imagevideo tour. The method includes transferring a data file stored in animage database to a memory of a computer, the image database containinga plurality of data files representing a plurality of images associatedwith an interactive image video tour of a predetermined facility, eachof the pluralities of data files comprising image data for displaying animage associated with a portion of the predetermined facility on aviewer associated with the computer; displaying a thumbnail view of theimage in a first portion of the image editor; dragging the thumbnailview of the image from the first portion of the image editor to a secondportion of the image editor; positioning the thumbnail view of the imagein a predetermined position according to a tour layout plan of thepredetermined facility in the second portion of the image editor; anddisplaying in the second portion of the image editor the image selectedfor use in the interactive image video tour of the predeterminedfacility.

Yet another aspect of an embodiment of the invention provides acomputer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling acomputer system to perform a method for editing an interactive imagevideo tour. The method includes selecting a data file comprising imagedata and displaying an image associated therewith on a computer, thedata file being stored in an image database containing a plurality ofimages for creating an interactive image video tour of a predeterminedfacility; and modifying one aspect of the image data contained in theselected data file.

These and various other aspects of the invention are pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof.For a better understanding of the invention, however, reference shouldbe made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to theaccompanying descriptive matter, in which there illustrated anddescribed specific examples of a system and method in accordance withthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the present invention may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a general-purpose computer systemfor implementing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a screen associated with oneembodiment of the image editor;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a database login screen;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a directory panel structure of aneditor;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a directory thumbnail viewer as awindow containing a thumbnail image;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a drop-down combo box containing adirectory history list;

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a map panel;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a master image catalog;

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of an overlay toolbar;

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a tour panel;

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a tour thumbnail viewer;

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a tour tree;

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a menu bar;

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of an expanded directory treecontaining an image node;

FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of an expanded directory treecontaining a map node;

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of an expanded directory treecontaining a tour node;

FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment of a menu bar;

FIG. 18 illustrates one embodiment of a file menu option of the menu barof FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 illustrates one embodiment of a help menu option of the menu barof FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 illustrates one embodiment of a map menu option of the menu barof FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 illustrates one embodiment of an options menu option of the menubar of FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment of a sort menu option of the menu barof FIG. 17;

FIG. 23 illustrates one embodiment of a portion of a map containing ahyperlink therein;

FIG. 24 illustrates one embodiment of a map containing tour lines;

FIG. 25 illustrates one embodiment of a map containing tour points;

FIG. 26 illustrates one embodiment of an expand tour tree displaying amaps node;

FIG. 27 illustrates one embodiment of an edit map hyperlinks window;

FIG. 28 illustrates one embodiment of a tour thumbnail viewer screendisplaying an alternate image set up;

FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment of a select ARM form screen;

FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment of an edit map information formscreen;

FIG. 31 illustrates one embodiment of another embodiment of a tourthumbnail viewer screen displaying an alternate image set up;

FIG. 32 illustrates one embodiment of an edit cataloged componentinformation form screen;

FIG. 33 illustrates one embodiment of an edit component image screen;

FIG. 34 illustrates one embodiment of an edit tour form screen;

FIG. 35 illustrates one embodiment of a current status of a folder iconcontaining either a complete status or an incomplete status;

FIG. 36 illustrates one embodiment of an edit primary image informationform screen;

FIG. 37 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of editingportions of an interactive image video tour according to one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 38 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of creating andediting portions of an interactive image video tour; and

FIG. 39 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of editingportions of an interactive image video tour according to one embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the invention provides an Interactive Video TourSystem (IVTS) editor that utilizes multimedia technology executing on ageneral-purpose computer platform. The system enables a user to take aninteractive tour of any predetermined facility, such as the containmentarea of a nuclear power plant, for example. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that although several embodiments of the presentinvention are described in conjunction with containment areas of anuclear power plant, the present invention is not limited thereto andmay be used in conjunction with any physical area or facility that canbe imaged and digitized. Using the IVTS according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the user may move in various directions, expandthe picture and copy to the WINDOWS® Clipboard. The user also may viewany individual component directly by selecting from a list. Whendesired, a full color copy of the image being viewed may be printed.

Accordingly, planners are able to see areas and components within afacility where work will be conducted without having to leave theiroffice by touring the facility in virtual mode. The physical location,size, orientation, and presence of interfering components may beascertained without physically entering the facility. Furthermore, theimage tour may provide a way of reviewing preferred access and egressroutes into and out of the facility. Also, known hot spots, highradiation areas, and ALARA waiting areas in nuclear power plantfacilities may be reviewed without entering dangerous portions of thenuclear power plant facility. The image system also may be used duringpre-work training sessions to familiarize workers with a facility'slayout, and staging of supplies and materials. Reviewing normal andshutdown views of critical areas with the workers also may improvecommunications and training effectiveness.

One embodiment of the system according to the present invention uses,for example, a standard personal computer workstation with images of thefacilities stored in digital format. Because all images are stored indigital format, updating the images may easily be performed at any time.Savings are thus realized in terms of decreased radiation exposure,decreased personal contamination incidents, and time spent entering andexiting restricted areas of a nuclear plant facility.

Various embodiments of the editor according to the present inventionprovides a user interface which: is intuitive, friendly and easy to use,requires little computer skill or knowledge to operate; enables the userto select and view individual facility (e.g., plant) components;provides unlimited views of each component; provides interfacecapabilities to the existing facility component databases to allowdirect read access to component specifications, work history, etc.;enables the user to take a tour of a selected building or area withinthe building; stores images in digital format and on industry-standardcomputer storage media; utilizes digital image processing technology toprovide high quality image storage and display to all users on anetwork, without using laser disk or special display adapter hardware inthe end-user's PC; maintains a catalog of all digitized images ofcomponents and areas of a facility in a relational database to providefor quick and easy search and retrieval of images; links each image to areference map showing the location where the image was captured and thedirection the camera was facing, giving the user a continuous point ofreference; operates on a standard WINDOWS® operating system and onindustry-standard networks.

One embodiment of the editor according to the present invention providesa WINDOWS® compliant graphical program and may be interacted with viatouch screen or a mouse. Generally, all functions may be performedthrough menu bar selections and various buttons on the screen. The usergenerally may, but need not type commands via a keyboard as other userinterfaces such as mouse, touch screen, voice recognition, and otheruser input interfaces may be used to direct an interactive visual tour.The interface may be dynamic in that as the user moves through an area,the “Up”, “Down”, “Left”, and “Right” arrows light up to indicate thatan image is available for viewing. Help may be provided continuously viaa status bar at the bottom of the screen.

In one embodiment of the present invention, components linked to adisplayed picture may be accessed via a “Components” button. Individualcomponents also may be displayed from a similar interface screen thatcontains controls for selecting components for view.

One embodiment of the present invention may provide two interfaces forend users. A Tour Interface allows users to select an area of thefacility and virtually “walk around” that area of the facility. AComponent View interface allows users to locate and view individualcomponents at random. Provisions may be provided for entering andidentifying a component or selecting a component from various lists.

In one embodiment, the present invention also may provide a referencemap generally located in proximity of the viewing window on the displaymonitor, for example, the reference map may be located to the right ofthe viewing window. A variety of map formats may be supported such as“.BMP,” “.PCX,” “.WMF,” etc. The map may indicate, for example, acompass direction, a location of the image on a floor plan, and adirection of view. Each image cataloged in the editor may contain anassociated map to provide the user with a way of always being aware oftheir personal virtual location and the direction they are facing in afacility.

The images used with the various embodiments of the editor describedherein may originate from a variety of sources and may be stored in avariety of formats. In one embodiment of the present invention, theeditor also may facilitate the cataloging of a variety of multimediatype files. For example, the editor may facilitate the cataloging ofimages and pictures. Furthermore, the editor may facilitate catalogingof IPIX images, video images, as well as audio clips. The images mayoriginate from a variety of sources such as, for example, a digitalcamera, a camcorder (or other video tape source), laserdisc, a KODAKphoto CD, a scanned set of photographs or slides, and the like, forexample. Also, the images may be formatted as “.TIF,” “.BMP,” “.JPG,”“.PCX,” “.PNG,” “.PCD,” “.TGA,” and “.FIF” files, and the like, forexample.

Database maintenance also may be provided in one embodiment of theinvention. For example, the editor according to one embodiment of theinvention may include a relational database containing information abouteach picture or image cataloged in the video tour system. The databasemay be maintained using a variety of visual tools provided with theprogram. Each picture and its associated map may be selected from avariety of pop-up lists. The arrow may be positioned on the map viadrag-and-drop, for example. Additional information about an image may beeither typed in or may be selected from a variety of lists. Facilitysite staff also may maintain the data contained in the editor images andthe database. Accordingly, images may be added, deleted or updated atany time at the facility site or at a location remote from the site, forexample.

One embodiment of the present invention may utilize, for example, adatabase interface for the editor using Open Database Connectivity(ODBC) drivers that allow any of more than 150 relational databases tobe used to store the information. For example, well known databases inthe art such as ORACLE®, ACCESS®, MS® SQL SERVER® and SYBASE® SQL Servermay be used in various embodiments of the present invention. ODBC mayprovide high performance flexible implementation of the editor. Theeditor database may be constructed and maintained in an existingdatabase system such as ORACLE®, or any other database program. ODBCalso may enable easy interfacing of the editor with an existingfacility's (e.g., plant's) component databases. Utilizing the componentID as a key field, the user may call up and view “live” data from aplant component database while viewing pictures associated therewith.ODBC also may enable the editor to be interfaced with a GraphicalElectronic Dosimetry Display System (GEDDS™), which manages telemetricdosimetry data. The link between the editor and the GEDDS may allow“real-time” data from ARMs and CAMs to be displayed as overlay objectsdirectly on the pictures within the editor. The GEDDS data may beupdated periodically (e.g., once per minute) while the user is using thesystem.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the editor may operateeither in a stand-alone or networked environment. The networkedoperation of the editor makes it accessible to other users or serversthat may be logged into a network site. Administration and maintenanceof the system may be easily controlled because all images, pictures,maps, and databases are located and maintained on server(s) connectedvia a network. While network operation may add complexity to the designof the system, embodiments of the present invention may utilize an imageformat that allows images to be transported across the network whileminimizing the impact on overall network performance. Fractal imagecompression also may be used to provide both an overall good imagequality in a small file size. Using such fractal images thus may resultin the overall lowest impact on the network performance. Networkdatabase access also includes ODBC and thus may provide high performanceaccess to the server database.

The operating environment of one embodiment of the editor according tothe present invention may include a 32-bit WINDOWS® applicationexecuting under WINDOWS® 9x, NT® and 2000, for example. In oneembodiment, 64 Mbytes of RAM may be used. One embodiment of the editoralso may be executed on a variety of IBM® compatible computers includinga PENTIUM® processor and super VGA or better graphics capability.Expensive, single-use workstations are generally not required but may beused nevertheless. The images in the editor may be true color format(24-bit, 16 million colors). If the images are in true color format, thePC may include a display adapter capable of displaying at least 32,000or more colors. The editor may interface with standard WINDOWS®compatible color printers that may be used for printing picturescomprising the video tours. Touch screen displays or touch overlays alsomay be used for public access applications of the present invention.

One embodiment of the invention provides a viewer portion for displayinga sequence of images comprising a virtual tour of a given facility. Thismay include specific components and related information, text, ARM, andCAM overlays. The viewer interface allows users to tour (“walk around”)a facility by viewing a set of photographs in the form of digitizedimages of an area within or outside a facility. The images may besequenced to give the user a sense that they are walking through thearea. The user may move forward, backward, and may turn around byclicking directional buttons, using the keys on the keyboard,touch-screen input, voice recognition, or any other form of inputrecognizable by the computer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the editor provides a visualsystem for adding, maintaining and deleting digitized images (e.g.,pictures, photographs, and the like) to be used for tours and componentviews. The images may be selected from thumbnail views that may bearranged by room or area and displayed in reduced size so that multipleimages may be viewed simultaneously. Reverse, left, and right imagesalso may be associated with the primary images using the thumbnails. Alocator arrow may be placed on the map by dragging and dropping it intoposition.

One embodiment of the present invention also provides a component imagemaintenance utility that allows for cataloging of component imageswithin the component database tables. Information such as the system andcomponent IDs, description, area, etc. may be entered using thecomponent image maintenance utility. Unlimited views of each componentalso may be entered into the component database.

One embodiment of the invention provides a map database maintenanceutility that allows for cataloging the reference maps used in theeditor. The map database maintenance utility includes, for example: theability of selecting and touring areas of the facility (manual orautomatic); enlarging an image to full screen size; selecting andviewing components, including alternate views of images that have beentaken and cataloged; storing all images and maps in digital format;utilizing fractal image compression technology for storage of 24 bittrue color images (16 million colors) in compressed files as small as20,000 bytes; rapidly decompressing images without the use of specialdecompression adapters; efficiently operating across a network becauseof small image file size; easily updating of the images as the facilityis modified; overwriting old image files to bring the system up to dateif a new image is taken from the same perspective as a previous image;executing on a standard PC with WINDOWS®9x, NT® and 2000; providing aclient version for network operation (does not contain the maintenanceutility functions); and installing database setup programs.

One embodiment of the present invention also may provide the followingoptions: overlaying of data directly on the images, such as radiologicaldata, component IDs, postings, etc.; interfacing with plant maintenancerecords system to query and display component data and/or work historydata; storing and playing back short video clips; interfacing with avisual survey data system for recalling and displaying radiologicalsurvey data for an area; interfacing with a GEDDS to display real-timeradiological data from electronic dosimeters or air monitors via radioor hard-wired transmission; enabling the user to take pictures ofexisting tour systems (Surrogate Tour or C-view) and converting theminto another editor format.

Turning now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike elements, the various embodiments of the present invention areillustrated as being implemented in a suitable general-purpose computingenvironment. In one embodiment, although not necessary, the inventionmay be comprised in the general context of computer executableinstructions being executed, for example, by a general-purpose computer.The computer executable instructions may take many forms such as, forexample, program modules, routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, and the like, for performing specified tasks or forimplementing specific data types. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the invention may be practiced using a variety ofwell-known conventional general-purpose computer systems such as, forexample, microprocessor or micro-controller-based systems,multiprocessor-based systems, programmable devices, personal computersoperating in a stand alone or networked environment (e.g., LAN, WAN,Client-Server, CORBA, Internet, etc.), minicomputers, mainframes, andthe like.

The embodiments of the present invention also may be practiced in adistributed computing environment. For example, the invention may bepracticed where remotely situated computers or processing devicesperform tasks while being linked to each other via one or morecommunication networks. Those skilled in the art also will appreciatethat within a distributed computing environment, the computer executableinstructions may reside in both local and remote memory, local andremote storage devices or both or any combination thereof. Although thevarious embodiments of the present invention may be described as beingimplemented in a suitable computing environment, computer components ofa conventional nature, in form and function, such as microprocessor,memory, storage, bus structure, and the like, may not be described indetail for such conventional computer components are well within theknowledge of those skilled in the art. For a detailed description of ageneral-purpose computer environment in which the invention may bepracticed, however, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,054 toLawton et al. (11. 62-67, col. 3 to 1. 26, col. 5 and FIG. 1), which isherein incorporated by reference.

FIG. 1 illustrates a general overview of one embodiment of a systemaccording to the present invention. The system includes ageneral-purpose computer system 10 for creating and editing aninteractive image video tour (tour). The computer system 10 may includea general purpose computing device in the form of a personal computer 12including a computer software program module editor 18 (editor) forcreating and editing a tour and providing a visual interface forcreating and editing the tour. The personal computer 12 may be incommunication with a database 14 that contains therein data associatedwith a plurality of images comprising various portions of the tour. Thecomputer 12 also may be in communication with a viewer 16 for displayingthe plurality of images associated with the tour that are stored in thedatabase 14.

The editor 18 module of the computer system 10 may include a firstportion in the form of a directory panel 20 and a second portion in theform of a tour panel 22. The directory panel 20 may include, forexample, a master image catalog 24, a directory thumbnail viewer 26, anda directory history tracker 28. The tour panel 22 portion of the editor18 also may include, for example, a tour thumbnail viewer 30, a mappanel 32, and a tour tree 34. As discussed above, components of thepersonal computer 12 that are of a general or conventional nature arenot shown in order to simplify the discussion of the embodiments of thepresent invention. The operation of the editor 18 software program andthe interaction of its various software module subcomponents within thecontext of creating and editing a tour or editing images associated withthe tour are described below.

Many different types of image files and formats may be used as imageswithin the editor 18, such as, for example all of the following types offiles: *.FIF, *.WMF, *.EMF, *.BMP, *.PNG, *.PCX, *.JPG; *.JPEG; *.PCD;*.TIF; *.TIFF; *.TGA, may be read, edited, and displayed by the editor18. In one embodiment of the present invention, the editor 18 mayfacilitate the cataloging of a variety of multimedia type files. Forexample, the editor 18 may facilitate the cataloging of images andpictures such as IPIX images, video images, as well as audio clips.Before the editor 18 can use any of the image files, however, they maybe placed in the master image catalog 24. The image files may beorganized into subdirectories under the master image catalog 24. Themaster image catalog 24 may be designated or changed within the options140 (FIG. 17) on the menu bar 96 (FIG. 17). When the directories andsubdirectories are organized with the image files and the master imagecatalog 24 has been selected, the directories and subdirectories may bedisplayed in the master image catalog 24 portion of the editor 18. Thethumbnail images 42 may be invoked, for example, by selecting any of thefolders within the directories and subdirectories to display thecorresponding thumbnail images 42 within the directory thumbnail viewer26. Adding images for use in the editor 18 may require placing the imagefiles in existing folders in the master image catalog 24 or creating newdirectories within the master image catalog 24 and placing the imagefiles in the new directories. They may then be available for use in theeditor 18.

Reverse images are the images seen in a tour as if the user were to turnaround 180° from a forward facing location. As discussed above, eachreverse image also may be linked to a primary image. In order for acompleted tour to loop in the viewer 16 (e.g., allow the user to travelon a continuous path, turning around at the end of the forward images,traveling back through the tour in the reverse direction, and thenstarting over again with the first forward image), each forward imagemay generally include a corresponding reverse image linked to it. If noreverse image exists, duplicate reverse images may be used, for example.The editor's 18 sample database (which may not necessarily be availableto individual users), also may supply an image, which may be insertedwherever no reverse image is available. See the Database Administratorfor details.

In one embodiment, the editor 18 may be used to edit images comprisingan image tour. Such images may be digitized photographs, pictures,blueprints, and other visual representations of the subject matter to beimaged in the editor 18, for example. The editor 18 may provide aconvenient easy-to-use, visual interface for creating the tours, editingthe tours as well as editing the images associated with the tours thatmay be viewed with the viewer 16. The editor 18 also may be used foradding or replacing images within existing tours that have already beencreated. Tour images and maps 62 (see FIG. 7) may be placed in specifieddirectories associated with the directory panel portion 20 of the editor18, for example. Tours may be created by dragging and dropping thumbnailviews of the images (small versions of each picture) and maps 62 (seeFIG. 7) from the directory thumbnail viewer 26 into the tour thumbnailviewer 30, adding descriptions and placing location arrows on the maps62 (see FIG. 7), for example.

Components and other related information, such as for example electronicdosimeters, telemetric dosimeters, ARM and CAM overlays, also may beincluded as part of the tours using the editor 18. Components may becataloged in the editor 18 and may be used in tours or viewedindependently of tours using the viewer 16. Cataloged components mayusually include more detailed images of the components than the imagesthat are used in a tour. Each component may be comprised of one or moreimages associated therewith, which may provide different views of thecomponent. A component may be cataloged before it can be used in a tour.If components are associated with images in a tour, they may beaccessible when the images are displayed in a tour and are indicated bya locator, which is placed on the image displayed by the editor 18.Components also may be viewed without opening a tour, but they may becataloged in the editor 18. The user may search for components viewed inthis manner, for example, by type, system or ID.

As discussed previously, the subject editor 18 forming one aspect of thepresent invention may reside within the computer system 12 environmentillustrated in FIG. 1 in the form of one or more computer-executablesoftware applications or modules. The editor 18 according to oneembodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a computerexecutable application or module. The computer executable applicationforming the editor 18 may be started, for example, by invoking, e.g.,clicking on either an icon identifying the editor 18 in a start menu orby clicking an executable file associated with the editor 18 in one ofthe program directories contained within the personal computer 12.Accordingly, when the executable application associated with the editor18 is invoked, a splash screen may appear on the computer displayshowing the version of the software program and then one embodiment of ascreen associated with the editor 18 is displayed.

FIG. 2 generally illustrates one embodiment of a screen 40 associatedwith the editor 18. The screen 40 associated with the editor 18 may bedivided into several panels and bars. For example, the screen 40 may bedivided into a directory panel 20 and a tour panel 22. The directorypanel 20 may comprise a master image catalog 24, a directory thumbnailviewer 26, and a directory history list 28, for example. The directorythumbnail viewer 26 may display one or more thumbnail images 42A of thecorresponding image files listed in the master image catalog 24. Inaddition, in one embodiment of the present invention, the editor 18 maycomprise a status bar 44 that provides the user with information relatedto the various image files, location of a mouse on the screen, and thelike. The status bar 44 information may change as the mouse is movedover the various portions of the editor 18 and may provide the user withhints about functions that may be available to the user within theeditor 18. In addition, the status bar 44 may provide additionalinformation about the various images and maps 62 that may be created andedited with the editor 18. The tour panel 22 may comprise a tourthumbnail viewer 30, a map panel 32, and a tour tree 34. The tourthumbnail viewer 30 also may display one or more thumbnail images 42B ofthe corresponding image files listed in the master image catalog 24 andthe directory thumbnail viewer 26. Hereinafter, once the thumbnail image42A from the directory thumbnail viewer 26 is placed in the tourthumbnail viewer 30 it will be referred to as thumbnail image 42B. Inone embodiment, a menu bar 46 may be provided within the screen 40 thatmay contain five or more options for the user to choose from, forexample, File, Edit, Options, Sort Help, and the like. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that additional or fewer options may be providedwithin the menu bar 46 depending on the specific implementation of theeditor 18 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The tour tree 34 panel may provide a hierarchical outline view of agiven tour. The map panel 32 may contain a map 62 of the tour area. Thetour thumbnail viewer panel 30 may contain the one or more thumbnailimages 42B selected for a current tour that is being created or edited.The directory thumbnail viewer 26 may display the one or more thumbnailimages 42A from a pre-selected directory within the master image catalogpanel 24 area of the directory panel portion 20 of the screen 40. Themaster image catalog panel 24 may contain the directory structure of theimages comprising the tours and maps 62 illustrating portions of thetours that are available for display in the directory thumbnail viewer26. The history list 28, which in one embodiment of the presentinvention is situated above the master image catalog panel 24 is adrop-down combination box menu, may contain the directory history listof the directories that have been selected during the creation of atour. All of the panels comprising the editor 18 may be resized for easyviewing, for example, by moving the cursor over the border of a paneland when the cursor changes to a double arrow the panel may be moved tomake the panel larger or smaller by holding down the mouse button anddragging the mouse in the desired direction.

There may be three overviews that help explain various aspects of oneembodiment of the editor 18 according to the present invention. First,there may be an introduction to the editor 18, which is a basicexplanation of one embodiment of the editor 18. Second, there may be anoverview that provides a description of the various panels and tools ofone embodiment of the editor 18 and the various functions of each paneland tool. Third, there may be a tour overview, which provides adescription of the basic components of one embodiment of a tour.

Tours may be created or edited using the editor 18 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Once created, the tours may beviewed with the interactive video tour system viewer 16. Tours maycomprise images, maps 62, arrows, and components. The images and maps 62for the tours may be stored within directories contained in the masterimage catalog 24. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however,that the images and maps 62 may be stored elsewhere without departingfrom the scope of the invention. To create a tour, one or more maps 62displaying the locations of the various images may be cataloged into thetour. The images may then be selected in the order in which they may beviewed. Descriptive information also may be added to each image. Foreach image, an arrow may be placed on the map 62 corresponding to thelocation of the image within the tour.

Primary images may be used to create a forward path and a reverse pathwithin a given tour. Primary images are the main images of a tour thatfollow a linear progression of an area and may be used to create aforward path in a tour. Reverse images may include any pictures, forexample, that the user will see when a Turn Around Button in a tour isclicked. These images may include the pictures the user sees when turnedaround 180° from an original location, for example. A status bar 44 isprovided at the bottom of the viewer 18 to communicate information tothe user. As the cursor moves over various objects on the screen 40, thetext in the status bar may be updated to provide a description of theobject under the cursor and/or instructions regarding the operationsthat may be performed on the object. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, tour lines 70 (FIG. 7) and tour points 72 (FIG. 7) mayrepresent the primary images only and the tour lines 70 (FIG. 7) andtour points (FIG. 7) generally will not change if reverse or alternateimages are edited or added thereto. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, if a completed tour is being edited and is concurrently openin the viewer 16, the changes made in the editor 16 may not be seen inthe viewer 16 until the viewer program has been exited and restarted.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an alternate image may bedefined as any picture, for example, that provides an up, down, left orright view for a given primary image in a tour. Alternate images may belinked to any type of image, except a component image, for example.Primary images, reverse images or even other alternate images, forexample, may have one or more alternate images associated therewith.Alternate images may comprise, for example, images normally seen whilelooking to the left, right, up, and down of the primary image whilewalking through the area represented by the primary image within thetour. Linking arrows may be placed on an image to allow the user to tourthrough a new tour linked to the present tour. In one embodiment of thepreset invention, a linking arrow may be provided on the image to showthat the new tour may be available in the direction of the arrow.Selecting the arrow, for example by clicking the mouse cursor on it, maychange the current tour to another tour in the direction of the arrow. Alabel may be added to the link, for example, to describe where the newtour goes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the tours may be created andmaintained easily and efficiently if the images and the maps 62 areorganized before starting the tour creating process. In one embodimentof the present invention, organizing the images and the maps 62comprises storing the images and maps 62 in one common directory. Forexample, a common directory may be given a custom name such as “Tours”and may be part of the master image catalog 24 portion of the editor 18.In one embodiment of the present invention, the images may be groupedinto small, logical subdirectories with easily identifiable names. Themaps 62 may be placed in a folder named “Maps,” for example. The imagesmay be stored in descriptive folders such as “First Floor—Offices,”“First Floor—Access Area,” “Basement—Storage,” and the like.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that images comprising thevarious tours to be created and edited with the editor 18 may be stored,for example, in the image database 14. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the database 14 may require a login process. With referencenow to FIG. 3, one embodiment of a database login screen 50 is shownsuch that a user may select an ODBC connection, for example, and fillingin the user's ID 52 and Password 54. If a login process is needed, thescreen 50 automatically appears when the user starts the editor 18. Thefirst combination box 51 contains all the valid ODBC connections definedin the general-purpose computer 12 environment in which the editor 18resides. If one entry is not in the list, the user may go to the“Control Panel” for the ODBC and create the necessary entry, forexample. The user also may supply both the ODBC connection and theID/Password combination within an editor initialization file such thatthe information may be provided automatically without the user beingprompted for the information. A conventional text editor such as theMICROSOFT® NOTEPAD® program may be used, for example, to edit the simpleinitialization file and may be stored within the same directorycontaining the editor's 18 executable file.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the editor 18 may require anODBC connection to the database 14. The name of the ODBC distributedsystem network (DSN) may be entered in the DSN dialog box 56. The nameto use may be obtained from an initialization file associated with theeditor's 18 executable file. For the editor 18 to use a specific DSN,the editor's 18 initialization file may be edited and the DSN may bechanged to a DSN32, for example. Otherwise, an ODBC connection may becreated to the database 14 that has a DSN of IVTS32, for example. Asetup program for the editor 18 may be used to create the new tables fora given DSN before using the editor 18. Optionally, the setup also maymove the tours created in a 16-bit version of the editor 18 into the newtables.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention that providesa directory panel 20 structure as shown in the lower half portion of theeditor's screen 40. As discussed previously, the directory panel 20 maycontain the directory history 28, the master image catalog 24, and thedirectory thumbnail viewer 26 showing the thumbnail images 42A. FIG. 5illustrates one embodiment of the directory thumbnail viewer 26 as awindow that contains the thumbnail images 42A corresponding to the imagefiles stored in the directory selected within the master image catalog24 of the editor 18. In one embodiment of the present invention, thedirectory thumbnail viewer 26 may be located to the right of the masterimage catalog 24. The thumbnail images 42A in the window of thedirectory thumbnail viewer 26 may include the images that may beavailable for the user to create or edit a tour. They correspond to theimage files contained in the directory that is selected in the masterimage catalog 24.

To add an image to a tour the user may use what will be referred tohereinafter as a drag and drop procedure. To drag and drop a thumbnailimage 42A, B, the user moves and places the cursor over the thumbnailimage 42A in the directory thumbnail viewer 26. To indicate that thethumbnail image 42A may be dragged to another location, the cursor maychange from one shape to another, for example the cursor may change fromthe shape of an arrow to the shape of a hand. By clicking and holdingdown a mouse button while the curser is positioned over a portion of thethumbnail image 42A, the user may then drag, i.e., move, and drop, i.e.,place, the thumbnail image 42A to a desired location in the tourthumbnail viewer 30. As the thumbnail image 42A is dragged into the tourthumbnail viewer 30, a placement bar may be highlighted to indicate theposition where the thumbnail image 42A may be dropped to the left of theplacement bar. The thumbnail image 42B placed in the tour thumbnailviewer 30 may be placed before or after any other thumbnail image 42Blocated in the tour thumbnail viewer 30. Thumbnail images 42B that arealready located in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 may be repositionedusing the same drag and drop procedure described previously. Flyovers(described hereinbelow with respect to FIG. 23) may be displayed whilethe thumbnail images 42A, B are being dragged.

Turning to FIG. 6, located above the master image catalog 24 may be adrop-down combination box that contains the history list 28. The historylist 28 may be displayed when the down arrow 60 is clicked within thehistory list 28. The history list 28, for example, lists the directoriesthat have been selected while creating or editing the tour.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of the map panel 32 according to thepresent invention. The map panel 32 may display the map 62 that is usedto identify the location of the images within the tour, for example. Inone embodiment of the present invention the map panel 32 may be locatedon the screen 40 between the tour tree 34 and the tour thumbnail viewer30, for example. A description of the map 62 may appear at a top portion64 of the map panel 32 and the map's file name may appear, for example,at a bottom portion 66 of the map panel 32. An arrow 68, for example acolored arrow, may be provided such that the arrow 68 corresponds to thelocation of a currently selected thumbnail image 42. The arrow 68 may bemoved within the map 62 by clicking on it and dragging the mouse to adesired location. Tour lines 70 and tour points 72 (discussed in moredetail below) may automatically readjust when the arrow 68 is moved. Thenew position may then be saved to the storage or the database 14, forexample. The user may rotate the arrow 68 by clicking the right mousebutton while the mouse curser is placed over the arrow 68 and selectingthe appropriate choices from the pull down menu that is subsequentlydisplayed, for example. There may be provided several options fordisplaying the tour lines 70 and the points 72, for example, byselecting an option from a menu bar the tour points 70 and tour lines 72may be hidden or displayed. The color of the tour lines 70 and the tourpoints 72 also may be set manually or by using predetermined values setin an initialization file, for example.

Arrows 68 may be used for various functions in the editor 18. Onefunction may be, for example, to provide locators on the maps 62. Thearrows 68 may be positioned on the maps 62 for identifying the locationof the images within a tour. Another function of the arrows 68 is toidentify tour links. These are arrows 68 that may be displayed on theimages to indicate the availability of another tour, for example, thatthe user may link to from the current tour. Clicking on these links maydisplay a second tour that is somehow connected to the current tour. Forexample, tour links may be set up between any two rooms. Then, as theuser tours one room, an arrow may be displayed, that when clicked on orselected, will take the user to the second room that was previouslylinked with the first room.

FIG. 8 illustrates a master image catalog 24 according to one embodimentof the present invention. In one embodiment the master image catalog 24provides a directory of the map files and the image files available foruse in all tours. The master image catalog 24 also may provide a displayof an expandable/collapsible hierarchy of folders 74 for organizing themap files and the image files into manageable groups of files. Oneportion of the master image catalog 24 may provide a drop-downcombination box 29 that contains the history list 28, for example. Asdiscussed previously, the drop-down combination box 29 may list thedirectories that have been selected while creating the tour. Below thehistory list 28 may be provided the master image catalog 24 of all theimage files and map files that are available for the creation of tours.Clicking a plus box within the master image catalog 24 expands adirectory to show the various files and subdirectories below it. Doubleclicking on a subdirectory displays any of the image files containedtherein as thumbnail images 42 in the directory thumbnail viewer 26. Theopen folder icon 76 may indicate the directory of image files that iscurrently being displayed in the directory thumbnail viewer 26.

All the image files to be used in editing and creating tours may belocated in the master image catalog 28 or one of its subfolders (i.e.,subdirectories). This feature may be designated, for example, when theeditor 18 is first invoked or by clicking on an appropriate option in agiven menu bar and then selecting the desired directory. The masterimage catalog 24 directory may be set up differently for differentapplications. For example, if desired, the master image catalog 24 maycomprise one directory for the development of tours (creating the tours)and another directory for completed tours as long as the appropriatemaster image catalog 24 is designated by way of options. If a firstdirectory is used for development and a second directory is used forcompleted tours, upon completion of a tour, the image files used forcreating the tours in the first directory should be copied to the seconddirectory so that they will be available to the viewer 16 and thus tothe user.

One embodiment of an overlay toolbar 80 according to the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 9. The overlay toolbar 80 may belocated in one of several specialized edit screens. For example, theoverlay toolbar 80 may be found on the edit primary, alternate, andreverse image information screens. The edit screens may be viewed byright clicking on the name of an image file within the tour tree 34 orby right clicking on the thumbnail image 42B in the tour thumbnailviewer 30 and, in either case, selecting the “Edit” function, forexample. The overlay toolbar 80 may include a “T” box 82 for creating atext box on the image that can be edited. This also may be used todisplay ARM and CAM information. The overlay toolbar 80 also may includea circle 84, which may be colored, for example, as a “locator” and maybe used to identify components in a given image. The arrow 86, whichalso may be colored, for example, may be used in a given image toindicate a link between two separate tours. If the “T” box 82 locator orthe arrow 86 is selected, i.e., clicked on, in the toolbox 80, it is“selected” and any subsequent clicking on the image creates that objecton the image. Clicking on the pointer cursor 88 returns the user to a“non-select” mode. To select an existing object, (display the handlesaround it), when no other objects are selected, the user may click oneither the “T” box 82 locator or the arrow 86 in the toolbar 80, thenclick on the object to be selected.

As discussed previously, the image files stored in the master imagecatalog 24 may generally be viewed in the form of thumbnail images 42A,B in the directory thumbnail viewer 26 and the tour thumbnail viewer 30,respectively. These thumbnail images 42A, B are small representations ofthe image files and may be displayed in the directory thumbnail viewer26 and the tour thumbnail viewer 30. The thumbnail images 42A, B may beviewed in greater detail by locating the mouse cursor over the image andclicking the right mouse button while the cursor is on the image andselecting an edit function, for example. For example, right clicking onthe thumbnail image 42A in the directory thumbnail viewer 26 displays anoption to “Enlarge,” which displays the thumbnail image 42A in aseparate window that may be created to fill the viewer 16 screen.Furthermore, right clicking on the thumbnail image 42B in the tourthumbnail viewer 30 may display four options. The first option is “Edit”and it displays the Edit Photo Information Form and allows editing ofthe information about the thumbnail image 42B. The second is “Enlarge”and it displays the thumbnail image 42B in a separate window, which maybe made to fill the viewer 16 screen. Third is a “Drill Down” optionthat changes the focus to an alternate image display. Finally, there isa “Delete” option for removing a selected image from a tour.

The tour panel 22 may be located in one portion of the editor 18 screen40 and may be structured as illustrated in FIG. 10, for example. Thetour panel 22 may comprise the tour tree 34, the map panel 32, and tourthumbnail viewer 30. The tour panel 22 may contain the elements of agiven tour such as the thumbnail images 42B.

An embodiment of the tour thumbnail viewer 30 of the tour panel 22 isshown in more detail in FIG. 11. The tour thumbnail viewer 30 maydisplay the thumbnail images 42B corresponding to the image files thathave been selected for a particular tour and dragged from the directorythumbnail viewer 26 to the tour thumbnail viewer 30. The tour thumbnailviewer 30 may be located to the right of the map panel 32, although itmay be located wherever it is most convenient in a given application.The title bar 90 portion of the tour thumbnail viewer 30 may display thedescription of the currently selected highlighted thumbnail image 42B.Right clicking on the highlighted thumbnail image 42B may provide a menuof options for the selected thumbnail image 42B, including editing theinformation associated with a given thumbnail image 42B. Thumbnailimages 42B may be selected by clicking on them or using arrow keys on akeyboard to move them, for example. Thumbnail images 42B also may berepositioned within the tour thumbnail viewer 30 by using the drag anddrop procedure described previously.

An embodiment of the tour tree 32 is shown in more detail in FIG. 12.The tour tree is a hierarchical outline view of the tour and displays anexpandable/collapsible hierarchy of folders 74 for organizing tourfiles, map files, image files, and component files into manageablegroups, for example. Clicking on the plus boxes expands the tour tree 32and shows more detail (e.g., subdirectories and files containedtherein). (A user also may double click on the item to expand the tourtree 32.) The tour tree 32 may display the tour files, associated mapfiles, associated image files, associated component files, andassociated component image files.

Folders and objects in the tour tree 32 also may be repositioned byusing the drag and drop procedure described previously. To display atour or view a map 62 or image the user may click on its name in thetour tree 32. Clicking on different items in the tour tree 32 maydisplay different results. Selecting a map file name in the tour tree 32may display the map 62 in the tour thumbnail viewer 30, for example.Selecting a primary image file in the tour tree 32 may highlight thecorresponding thumbnail image 42A in the tour thumbnail viewer 30, forexample. Selecting an alternate image file may display the correspondingprimary image and the alternate image along with the alternate imageoptions, for example. Selecting a reverse image file may display thecorresponding reverse image with the alternate options, for example.Right-clicking on any item may cause a menu to appear with the availableoptions for working with that item, for example. Map files that arecataloged in the tour tree 32 under the catalog folder 94 for use withcomponents may be sorted in alphabetical order, regardless of where theyare dragged or dropped into within the tour tree 32.

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a main menu bar 96 according tothe present invention. Clicking on the edit option 98 of the menu bar 96may display the selected node option 100. Clicking on the selected nodeoption 100 then may display the editable information for the node thatis selected in the tour tree 32. For example, with reference to FIG. 14,if the selected node is an image node 102 and an Edit/Selected Node 100is clicked on, the information screen for that image is displayed andthen may be edited. With reference now to FIG. 15, if the selected nodeis a map node 104 and Edit/Selected Node 100 is clicked on, theinformation screen for that map 62 is displayed and then may be edited.With reference to FIG. 16, if the selected node is tour node 106 andEdit/Selected Node 100 is clicked on, the information screen for thattour is displayed and may be edited. If a completed tour is being editedand is concurrently open in the viewer 16, the changes made in theeditor 18 may not be seen in the viewer 16 until the viewer program hasbeen exited and restarted, for example.

Referring to FIG. 17, the menu bar 96 may be found at one portion of theeditor 18 screen 40. Clicking on the item or using the shortcut keycombination of the “Alt” key with the underscored character in the menuitem may be used to trigger selections, for example. There are fiveoptions to choose from on the menu bar 96. The File option 108 allowsnew tours to be created. It also may provide the means for exiting fromthe editor 18 program. The Edit option 98 allows information pertainingto the node selected in the tour tree 32 to be edited. The Map option130 allows tour lines 70, tour points 72, and hyperlinks to be displayedor hidden, for example. The Options option 140 allows some of the editorsettings to be modified. The Sort option 142 allows the thumbnail images42A, B in the panels to be sorted by date or name. The Help option 116provides several options for obtaining information desired by the user,and also helps in using the editor 18.

Illustrated in FIG. 18 is the resulting screen when the user clicks onthe file option 108 in the menu bar 96. Clicking on the file option 108on the menu bar 96 may display two or more choices, create a new tour110 or exit 112 the editor 18, for example.

FIG. 19 shows embodiments of various pull down menu options that may beavailable by clicking the Help 116 option in the menu bar 96. When Help116 is selected, the several options may be displayed to get help andinformation about the editor 18, such as the following options, forexample. The editor “Overview” option 118 opens up the help systemstarting at an editor overview page. The editor's 18 “How To” option 120opens up the help system starting at a how to index page. Selecting the“How to Use” Help option 122 opens up a WINDOWS® help system thatdescribes how to use the help system. Selecting the “What's New” option124 displays information that describes what is new in the latestrelease of the editor 18 that is running. Selecting the “About” option126 displays the editor 18 program version and notes about copyrights.The “Copyrights” option 128 displays the credits for the editor 18developments.

Turning now to FIG. 20, clicking on the “Map” option 130 on the menu bar96 may display four options, for example. First, the “Show Tour Lines”option 132 displays the tour lines 70 on the map 62. Un-checking thisoption 132 hides the tour lines 70. Second, selecting the “Show TourPoints” option 134 displays the tour points 72 on the map 62. Tourpoints 72 are squares that indicate the location of primary images onthe map 62. Un-checking option 134 hides the tour points 72. Third,selecting the “Show Current Tour Only” option 136 displays only thecurrently selected tour line 70 and its tour points 72, for example.Un-checking option 136 displays all the tours available on the map 62.Finally, selecting the “Show Hyperlinks” option 138 displays the maphyperlinks 172 (see FIG. 23) on the map 62. Un-checking this option 138will hide the map hyperlinks 172 (see FIG. 23) on the map 62.

FIG. 21 illustrates one embodiment of the options 140 selectionaccording to the present invention in slightly more detail. Clicking onthe “Option” button on the Menu Bar 96 displays a list of propertiesthat may be modified in the editor 18. The “History” option 144determines how the history list 28 usage may be displayed. There arethree options for the history list 28. A “Clear” option removes allentries from the history list 28, a “Size” option specifies the maximumnumber of entries in the history list 28, and a “Sort” option sorts theentries in the history list 28 alphabetically, for example. If it isunchecked, the entries may be listed in the order in which they wereselected for viewing, for example. A “Thumbnail Hints” option 146 mayprovide hints by way of pop-up displays that appear when the cursor ismoved over a thumbnail image 42A, B. The pop-ups may provide detailsregarding the file location, the height and width of the image, and thedate and time the image was created, for example. The pop-ups may beturned on or off with option 146. A “Set Master Photo Catalog Folder”option 148 may be used to specify that all image files and map files foruse by the editor 18 should reside under the same folder, namely themaster image catalog 24 folder. The image files may be organized intosub-folders in any way desired. In one embodiment, however, the mapfiles may be placed in a folder called Maps in the master image catalog24. The location of the master image catalog 24 folder may be set withthis option. An “Auto Load” option 150 provides that the thumbnailimages 42 from the thumbnail tour viewer 30 and the thumbnail viewerdirectory 26 that were last displayed automatically load into the editor18 upon start up. If the option is off, no thumbnail images 42 aredisplayed until a tour or image directory is selected. A “ResetDefaults” option 152 may be used to reset all window sizes, colors, andstates back to the original default settings, for example. The “HistoryList” is not affected when resetting defaults. A “Set Colors” option 154allows the border color of the thumbnail images 42 to be changed, forexample. The gradient of a thumbnail image color and which thumbnailimages are affected (selected or unselected) may be customized with thisoption. The colors of the tour lines 70 and tour points 72 may be editedthrough an initialization file, for example.

As shown in FIG. 22, clicking on the “Sort” option 142 of the menu bar96 displays the options for sorting the thumbnail images 42A present inthe directory thumbnail viewer 26. If the “Directory Panel” button 156is selected, the thumbnail images 42A may be sorted by Date 158 or byName 160, for example, either in ascending 162 or in descending 164order.

FIG. 23 illustrates a portion of the map 62 according to one embodimentof the present invention containing a hyperlink therein. The maphyperlink 172 allows the user to travel from one map 62 to another bysimply clicking on a specified area on the map 62. These areas on themaps 62 may display a new, larger map 62 of the area inside the maphyperlink 172 when clicked on. Multiple map hyperlinks 172 may bepresent on the map 62. A flyover 174, which contains the name of the map62 may be displayed when the cursor is placed over the hyperlink 172.Flyovers 174 are bits of information that are displayed for a short timeas the cursor passes over certain objects. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, flyovers may be made available for the thumbnailimages 42A, B located in the directory thumbnail viewer 26, the tourthumbnail viewer 30, and the map panel 32. When the cursor is located onone of the thumbnail images 42A, B, the directory where thecorresponding thumbnail image file is stored, its height and width, andthe date and time of creation are displayed. Flyovers also may be madeavailable for tour link arrows, component locators, and map hyperlinks,for example. When the cursor is placed over a tour link arrow, the nameof the connecting tour may be displayed. When the cursor is over acomponent locator, the name of the component may be displayed.

Maps 62 are images that may be displayed in the map panel 32 portion ofthe editor 18. The maps 62 provide the user with the means to determinethe location of each image associated with the tour. Arrows 68 may beplaced on the maps 62 to pinpoint the exact location of an image. Anyimage that is cataloged in the editor 18 may be used for a map 62. Inone embodiment of the present invention, all the images to be used asmaps 62 for a tour may be placed in a common subdirectory of the masterimage catalog 24, for example.

FIG. 24 illustrates one embodiment of tour lines 70 according to thepresent invention. The tour lines 70 are the paths that may be drawn onthe map 62 to indicate the location of the tours. The tour lines 70 maybe created using primary images, for example. The tour lines 70 may bedrawn between the tour points 72 of sequential images of the same tour.The tour lines 70 may be visible or hidden depending on the optionsselected from the menu bar 96 map 62 option 130. The color of the tourlines 70 also may be edited using an initialization file, for example.By default, a current tour may be shown in a different color than othertours on the map 62. This provides easy identification of the currenttour and image location. In one embodiment of the present invention, thetour lines 70 and the tour points 72 may be associated with the primaryimages of a tour. When viewing the reverse images, however, the arrows68 may not match with the tour line 70 or the tour point 72. The tourlines 70 and the tour paths may not change if reverse or alternateimages are edited or added. Thus, when viewing the reverse images, thearrows 68 may be located where they had been originally placed, whichmay not be exactly along the tour line 70.

FIG. 25 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention where thetour points 72 may be displayed on the map 62 as images are added to atour. The tour points 72 indicate the location of the primary image inthe tour. The tour points 72 may be created when the primary image isadded to a tour. Moving the arrow 68 on the map panel 32 or moving thearrow 68 when editing the primary image moves the tour points 72. Thetour points 72 may be visible or hidden depending on the optionsselected from the menu bar 96 map option 130. The color of the tourpoints 72 also may be selected by editing the initialization file. Bydefault, tour points 72 in a current tour may be shown in a differentcolor than any other tour points 72 on different tours on the map 62.This provides easy identification of the current tour and imagelocation. Tour points 72 may be created when an image is added to atour, for example. Tour lines 70 and tour points 72 may be associatedwith the primary images of a tour, when viewing reverse images, thearrows 68 may not match with the tour line 70 or tour point 72. The tourlines 70 and tour paths will not change if reverse or alternate imagesare edited or added. Therefore, when viewing the reverse images, thearrows may be located where they have been placed, which may not beexactly along the tour line 70.

One example of the steps that may be used to create a map hyperlink 172includes executing the following procedure.

1. Expand the tour tree 34 to display the maps node by clicking on theplus sign next to catalog, for example.

2. Click on the plus sign next to the maps node to display the list ofmap 62 names.

3. Click on the plus sign next to the map 62 name that the hyperlinks172 will be created on.

4. With reference to FIG. 26, click on the words map links 180. If thereare any hyperlinks 172 already created for a given map 62 they willgenerally be listed here.

5. Double click on the folder in the master image catalog 24 thatcontains the maps 62 that will be hyper-linked to. This displays themaps 62 in the directory thumbnail viewer 26.

6. Drag and drop the appropriate map 62 from the directory thumbnailviewer 26 to the tour thumbnail viewer 30.

7. With reference now to FIG. 27, the Edit Map hyperlinks window 190will then be displayed.

8. Select the rectangle area 192 next to the arrow cursor 194 in thetool bar 196. The user then may click on the map 62 at the desiredlocation of the hyperlink 172. A rectangle will be placed on the map 62.The rectangle represents the area of the map 62 that will behyper-linked to.

9. To adjust the location of the rectangle, the user may move the mousecursor over the rectangle, click and hold the left mouse button and dragthe rectangle to a desired location.

10. To resize the rectangle, the user can move the mouse cursor over oneof the squares (resizing handles) around the rectangle's border. Whenthe cursor changes to a double arrow, the user may click and hold theleft mouse button and drag the rectangle to the desired size.

11. To change the characteristics of the hyperlink rectangle 192, theuser may place the mouse cursor on the rectangle 192 and then rightclick the mouse button to display a menu. Examples of the menu optionsare as follows.

Change Pen Color—allows selection of the color of the lines of therectangle.

Change Pen Width—allows selection of the width of the lines as theyappear on the map 62.

The Pen Width—may be set to 1 to enable the Change Pen Style option.

Change Pen Style—allows the lines to be drawn in different formats (dot,dot-dash, etc.).

Change Color—allows selection of fill color.

Change Transparency—displays the slider bar that determines the degreeof transparency for the fill color.

Bring to Front—objects may be placed on the map 62 in layers. Whenobjects are placed on top of another object so that the objects on thebottom layer are partially covered, right clicking on the bottom objectand selecting Bring to Front will move the bottom object to the toplayer to allow it to be moved or modified more easily.

Send to Back—objects may be placed on the map 62 in layers. Within eachlayer, when one object is placed on top of another so that the lowerobject cannot be clicked on to move or alter, right clicking on the topobject and selecting Send to Back will move the top object to the bottomand allow the bottom object to move up a layer and to be modified ormoved. Objects are generally moved within their own layer as describedabove.

Delete—will delete the hyperlink 172.

12. The user then may click on OK to accept any changes or may click onCancel to exit the dialog box without creating the hyperlink 172. Thehyperlink 172 may be displayed on the map 62 and the flyover 174 on therectangle indicates the map 62 that will be hyper-linked.

13. Multiple hyperlinks 172 may be added by repeating this procedure.

As discussed previously, alternate images may include pictures that auser sees while looking left, right, up, and down virtually walkingthrough the tour. Each alternate image may be associated with a primaryimage. With reference now to the screen 200 illustrated in FIG. 28, oneexample of the steps that can be used to add alternate images to a tourincludes executing the following procedure.

1. Expand the tour tree 34 to display the alternate images node underthe primary images it will be associated with. Click on the plus signnext to the primary images in the tour tree 34 then click on the plussign next to the specific primary image that the alternate image will beassociated with, for example. Click on the words alternate images todisplay the alternate image set up in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 onthe right side of the screen 200.

2. Click on the plus sign next to the alternate images node in the tourtree 34 to expand the alternate selections. For each selected imagethere may be an up, down, left, and/or right image associated with it.

3. Select an image from the directory thumbnail viewer 26, drag it upinto the tour thumbnail viewer 30, and drop it into the correspondingrectangle 202A, B. If it is an “up” image, drop it on the top rectangle202A, if it is a “right” image, drop it on the rectangle 202B to theright of the alternate image, and so on. Alternate images are generallynot assigned alternate views that are in the opposite direction. Forexample, an up alternate does not generally have a down option, becausethe down view from the up alternate is the original primary image.

4. Add a description, move the arrow to the correct location and clickOK.

5. Continue adding alternate images as they become available. The tourlines 70 and tour points 72 generally represent primary images. The tourlines 70 do not change if reverse or alternate images are edited oradded.

6. Click on the “X” 206 in the upper right corner of the tour thumbnailviewer 30 to move up one node on the tour tree 34. If an alternate imageis displayed, it will close the alternate image window and return to theprimary image window in the tour thumbnail viewer 30. If the tourthumbnail viewer 30 contains an alternate image of an alternate image,click on the “X” 206 to display the original alternate image, and so on.

7. The turn around arrow 208 may be used to navigate to the reverseimage options of the same primary image. Clicking on the turn aroundarrow 208 a second time will navigate the user to the forward image.

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a GEDDS™ system, whichis a WINDOWS®-based application that provides an easy to use andunderstand graphical user interface for the controlling and displayingradio transmitted electronic dosimetry data. GEDDS addresses the needfor increased productivity and improved information management. GEDDSprovides a high performance network solution for the management anddisplay of data received from radio transmitting devices such aselectronic dosimeters ARMs and CAMs.

With reference now to FIG. 29, real time dose rates from ARMs/CAMs alsomay be displayed on images in the editor 18 and viewer 16 if they areset up in the editor 18 and if the GEDDS module is currently running.One example of the steps that can be used to set up various ARMs/CAMsincludes executing the following procedure.

1. Display the ARM/CAM by selecting a thumbnail image 42B from the tourthumbnail viewer 26.

2. Display the edit primary photo information form by right clicking onthe thumbnail image 42B and selecting edit clicks on the “T” box 82 inthe overlay toolbar 80.

3. Display a text box with handles (little boxes) around it by clickingin the image where the ARM/CAM information is to be located.

4. Select a link to arm or a link to cam by right clicking inside thetext box. These steps cause a window 210 to pop up that enables the userto select the ARM/CAM(s) that may be available for monitoring. The userthen may continue the process as follows.

5. Select the desired ARM/CAM 212 by clicking thereon; acknowledge theselection by clicking on OK 214. The text box will reflect the currentdose rate and refresh with data from GEDDS at regular intervals.

6. To delete the ARM/CAM, the user may right click on the text box andselect Delete from the options.

Any maps 62 that are to be used in the editor 18 may be placed in adirectory located within the master image catalog 24 before they may beused to create tours. One example of the steps that may be used to add amap 62 to a tour includes executing the following procedure.

1. In the tour tree 34, select the tour that is to receive the map 62 byclicking on the word “Maps” and opening the map window in the tourthumbnail viewer 26.

2. Open and display the images in the directory thumbnail viewer 26 bydouble clicking on the folder that contains the map 62 image in themaster image catalog 24.

3. Drag and drop the map 62 from the directory thumbnail viewer 26 intothe tour thumbnail viewer 30.

4. With reference now to FIG. 30, if it is the first time the map 62 isbeing used in the editor 18, an edit map 62 information dialog box 220may be displayed. The user then may continue by completing thedescriptive information and entering information in the description box222. If the map 62 has already been used in a tour, the map 62information may be edited by right clicking on the map 62 in the tourthumbnail viewer 30 or by right clicking on the map file name in thetour tree 34 and selecting edit. The first time a map 62 is used in theeditor 18, the Edit Map Information dialog box 220 may be displayedafter adding it to a tour. Accordingly, the user may then enter theappropriate information in the Description 222, Building 224, Area 226,and Compass 228 fields as may be desired. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, the Description 222 field may be required beforeallowing the user to proceed. After completing these steps, the user maythen click on OK to close the dialog box 220.

The maps 62 to be used in the editor 18 may be placed in the masterimage catalog 24. (The master image catalog 24 may be designated oredited from within the options 140 portion of on the menu bar 96.) Anythumbnail image 42A, B or image file in the master image catalog 24 maybe used for a map 62. In one embodiment of the present invention, themap 62 images may be kept in a single subdirectory under the masterimage catalog 24, thus making them readily available and identifiablefor the user to incorporate in a tour.

One example of the steps that may be used to add a map 62 to the editor18 includes executing the following procedure.

1. Place the maps 62 in existing folders (e.g., the Maps folder) in themaster image catalog 24 or create new directories within the masterimage catalog 24 and place the maps 62 in the new directories, thusmaking the maps 62 available for use in the editor 18. 2.

Display the maps 62 in the directory thumbnail viewer 26 by doubleclicking on the folder that contains the map files in the master imagecatalog 24.

3. Drag and drop the maps 62 into the tour thumbnail viewer 30 for usein a tour or to be cataloged for component use.

4. Automatically add the maps 62 to the master image catalog 24 whenthey are used for tours or with components.

5. Finally, display the maps 62 alphabetically in the Catalog/Mapsportion of the tour tree 34.

Images to be added to an existing tour generally may be located in themaster image catalog 24. One example of the steps that may be used toadd an image to an existing tour includes executing the followingprocedure.

1. Select the tour to add an image to; expand the required folder byclicking on the plus next to the tour name in the tour tree 34; expandthe Maps folder by clicking on the plus next to the Maps folder andexpand the Map name folder by clicking on the plus next to the Map name.

2. Select the words, Primary Images by clicking on them, for example.This displays the images that are currently in the selected tour in thetour thumbnail viewer 26.

3. In the master image catalog 24, open the folder that contains theimage file to be added to the tour by double clicking thereon anddisplaying the corresponding thumbnail images 42 within the folder inthe directory thumbnail viewer 26; select the thumbnail image 42A to beadded; and drag the thumbnail image 42A to the tour thumbnail viewer 30to the location of the tour where it should be inserted and drop thethumbnail image 42A therein.

4. Accordingly, a new window opens containing the image, description,and direction fields where the user then may enter the appropriateinformation.

5. The map 62 and an arrow appear on the right side of the window; dragthe arrow to the location on the map 62 that matches the location on theimage; if the arrow requires rotation, either type the degree ofrotation (1-360°) in the arrow angle field or move the slider bar untilthe arrow is at the proper angle; the arrow also can be movedhorizontally by changing the value in the arrow X field or vertically bychanging the value in the arrow Y field; finish by clicking on OK.

With reference now to FIG. 31, one example of the steps that may be usedto associate a reverse image to a primary image includes executing thefollowing procedure.

1. Display the reverse image node under the primary image to which itwill be linked to expand the tour tree 34, by clicking on the plus signnext to primary photos in the tour tree 34, then clicking on the plussign next to the specific primary image that the reverse image will belinked to and clicking on the words reverse photos to display thereverse image set up in the tour thumbnail viewer on the right side ofthe screen.

2. Expand the alternate selections by clicking on the plus sign next tothe reverse photos node and for each reverse image there may be an up,down, left and/or right image linked to it.

3. Select a thumbnail image 42A from the directory thumbnail viewer 26,drag the thumbnail image 42A to the tour thumbnail viewer 30, and dropit into the center rectangle 202C; add a description, move the arrow 68to the correct location on the map 62, and click on OK. In oneembodiment of the present invention, the tour lines 70 and tour points72 may only represent the primary images. The tour lines 70 and tourpaths may not change if reverse or alternate images are edited or added.Accordingly, when viewing the reverse images, the arrows may be locatedwhere they were originally placed and may not coincide with the tourline 70.

4. Close the reverse image window by clicking on the “X” 206 in theupper right corner of the tour thumbnail viewer 200 and return to theprimary image window in the tour thumbnail viewer 30.

5. Use the turn around arrow 208 to navigate to the forward imageoptions for the reverse image.

Text also may be added to an image. One example of the steps that may beused to add text to an image includes executing the following procedure.

1. Locate the tour image that will contain the text note and display itin the tour thumbnail viewer 30 by clicking on it.

2. Display the edit image information form for that image by either (1)right clicking on the image file name in the tour tree 34 and selectingEdit, or (2) right clicking on the thumbnail image 42B in the tourthumbnail viewer 30 and selecting Edit.

3. Click on the box 80 with a “T” 82 in it at the top left of thewindow.

4. Click on the area of the image where the text will be placed and atext box will be displayed with eight handles (tiny squares) around it.

5. Move the cursor over the text box until it changes into a hand tomove the text box to another location, click and hold the left mousebutton and drag the text box to the desired location.

6. Display the Edit Text Form by right clicking on the text box andselecting Enter Text from the options, enter the text (up to 50characters) in the text field.

If necessary, the characteristics of the text may be altered by rightclicking on the text box and selecting one or more of the followingoptions:

Link to ARM—may display a list of ARMs available to link to. If a textbox is linked to an ARM, the text box automatically reflects the updateof the dose reading from the ARM, as long as the link is maintained.When a tour is used that contains this link, the data may be updated atregular intervals and may be displayed on the image that contains thetext box;

Link to CAM—may display a list of CAMs available to link to. If a textbox is linked to a CAM, the text box may automatically reflect theupdate of the dose reading from the CAM, as long as the link ismaintained. Any time a tour is used that contains this link, the datamay be updated at regular intervals and may be displayed on the imagethat contains the text box.

Text Font—may allow selection of the text font;

Change Color—may allow selection of the color of the text box;

Change Text Color—may allow selection of the color of the text as itappears on the image;

Change Handles—may allow the handles around the text box to appear as asolid squares or clear (the background shows through);

Bring to Front—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. Sometimes objects may be placed on top ofanother object so that the objects on the bottom layer are partiallycovered. Right clicking on the bottom object and selecting Bring toFront will move the bottom object to the top layer to allow it to bemoved or modified more easily;

Send to Back—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. One object may be placed on top of another sothat the object on the bottom layer cannot be clicked on to move oralter. Right clicking on the top object and selecting Send to Back willmove the top object to the bottom layer and allow the bottom object tomove up a layer and to be modified or moved; and

Delete—this will delete the selected text box

Links may be provided between tours. A minimum of two tours may berequired, however, before the tours may be linked together. To providecontinuity between tours, a user generally may create a link from Tour Bto Tour A at the time when the link from Tour A to Tour B is created. Atour may have multiple links and multiple links may be created on asingle image. One example of the steps that may be used to link twotours (e.g., Tour A and Tour B) includes executing the followingprocedure.

1. Locate a tour image to link from Tour A in the tour tree 34 anddisplay it in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 by clicking on it.

2. Display the Edit Photo Information Form for that image by either (1)right clicking on the image name in the tour tree and selecting Edit,(2) right clicking on the image in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 andselecting Edit, or (3) select the image and use the menu bar 96.

3. Click on the green arrow button at the top left of the window.

4. Click on the area of the image where the arrow will be placed, thearrow will be displayed with eight handles (squares) around it.

5. Move the cursor over the arrow until it changes into a hand to movethe arrow to another location, click and hold the left mouse button anddrag the arrow to the desired location (the arrow may be rotated, seestep below).

6. Select Link to Tour from the options by right clicking on the arrowto display the Select Tour Link Form and navigate through the tour tree34 to locate the image that will be linked to in Tour B. Accordingly,the image located is the image displayed when the arrow is clicked onfrom Tour A. It will be the first image of Tour B (the linked tour). Forexample, to link a tour of the kitchen (Tour A) and a tour of the diningroom (Tour B), an arrow may be placed on the image at the doorway in thekitchen and linked to the image at the doorway in the dining room. Whentaking a tour of the kitchen, if the arrow is clicked on, the user willbe taken to the doorway of the dining room.

7. The description entered in the Tour Link Form is the text that isdisplayed in the flyover 174 help in the tour. This is the informationbox that is displayed when the cursor moves over the arrow on the imagein the tour.

Characteristics of the arrow may be altered by right clicking on thearrow and selecting one of the following:

Center Rotation—may allow the rotation of the arrow to originate fromthe center point of the arrow;

Tip Rotation—may allow the rotation of the arrow to originate from thetip of the arrow;

Rotate—displays the arrow angle and slider bar that allows the arrow tobe rotated;

Change Handles—may allow the handles around the arrow to appear as asolid squares or clear (the background shows through);

Bring to Front—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. Sometimes objects may be placed on top ofanother object so that the objects on the bottom layer are partiallycovered. Right clicking on the bottom object and selecting Bring toFront will move the bottom object to the top layer to allow it to bemoved or modified more easily;

Send to Back—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. One object may be placed on top of another sothat the object on the bottom layer cannot be clicked on to move oralter. Right clicking on the top object and selecting Send to Back movesthe top object to the bottom layer and allow the bottom object to moveup one layer and to be modified or moved; and

Delete—this may be used to delete the selected arrow.

New components may be associated with an image in a tour. Components maybe cataloged prior to being associated with an image in a tour in theeditor 18. Cataloged components may be images that contain more detailof the component than the image that is being used in a given tour. Oneexample of the steps that may be used to catalog a new componentincludes executing the following procedure.

1. Display the Components node by clicking on the plus sign next toCatalog and expanding the tour tree 34.

2. Display the By Map node by clicking on the plus sign next toComponents.

3. Display the map 62 names that may be available for componentlocations by clicking on the plus sign next to By Map.

4. Display the available maps 62 in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 byclicking on the words By Map.

5. Select the appropriate map 62 by either clicking on the map file namein the tour tree 34 or by selecting it in the tour thumbnail viewer 26.If the desired map 62 is not cataloged under the Components node, it mayneed to be cataloged before components can be added to it.

6. Display the options menu. Select Add New Component by right clickingon the map 62 name in the tour tree 34.

7. Display the Edit Cataloged Component Information Form 230 asillustrated in FIG. 32. The user now has the option of entering theComponent ID 231, the System 232, the Type 233, the Description 234, theGrid/Elevation 235, the Grid-X coordinate 236, the Grid-Y coordinate 237and the Grid-Z coordinate 238.

8. Add the descriptive information. Click on OK. Accordingly, thecomponent name may be added to the tour tree 34 under the selected map62. Information related to this component may be accessed and edited atany time by right clicking on the component in the tour tree 34 andselecting Edit. If there are multiple views of a component, the imagemay be the first one to be displayed when selected. It is indicated by agear symbol and is the component node in the tour tree. A specificcomponent image may be associated with this descriptive information.Also, multiple views of the same component with the same descriptiveinformation (as displayed above) may be added.

9. To associate a specific component with the component node justcreated, select the folder from the master image catalog 24 thatcontains the component image by double clicking on it to display theimage files contained in that folder in the directory thumbnail viewer26.

10. Verify that the component name was selected in the tour tree 34.

11. Select the image of the component from the directory thumbnailviewer 26, drag and drop it in the tour thumbnail viewer 30. Accordinglyas illustrated in FIG. 33, the Edit Component Photo form 240 isdisplayed. The information is specific to each component image 242. Ifthere are multiple views of a component image 242, each view may haveits own information that may be edited from the edit component photoform 230. On the right side of the window may be the map 62 and an arrow68. If the arrow 68 requires rotation, the user may type either thedegree of rotation (1-360°) in the arrow angle field 244 or may move theslider bar until the arrow is at the proper angle; the arrow also may bemoved horizontally by changing the value in the arrow X field 246 orvertically by changing the value in the arrow Y field 248; finish byclicking on OK.

12. Fill in the descriptive information and place the arrow in thecorrect location and click on OK.

13. Add multiple views of a component by selecting the component in thetour tree 34 (with the gear symbol next to it) and dragging and droppingthe alternate views into the tour thumbnail viewer 30.

If a component has more than one image associated with it, these imagesmay be repositioned within the tour thumbnail viewer 30 as follows: movethe cursor over the image to be moved, the cursor may be shaped like ahand to indicate that the image may be dragged to another location;click and hold down the mouse button, then drag and drop the image tothe desired location in the tour thumbnail viewer; as the image isdragged in the tour thumbnail viewer, a placement bar may be highlightedto indicate the image may be dropped to the left of the placement bar;and place the image before or after any other image in the tourthumbnail viewer 30. Cataloged Components also may be moved within thesame component node in the tour tree 34. If a component has multipleviews, they may be repositioned within the component node by selecting,dragging, and dropping the components in the tour tree.

The tour status also may be changed, at any time, in one of two ways,for example. First, by right clicking on the tour name in the tour treeand selecting Change Status. Second, with the name of the tourhighlighted in the tour tree, selecting Edit 98 Selected Node 100 fromthe menu bar 96. This action displays the Edit Tour Form 250 asillustrated in FIG. 34. The Edit Tour Form 250 allows the user to enterinformation for a new or an existing tour. A Complete status 252 on atour means that the tour is available to the viewer 16 program and isindicated by a red check mark next to the tour in the tour tree 34. If atour is not marked as complete it may not be available for viewing inthe viewer 18. The tour tree 34 indicates the current status in itsfolder icon. A complete status 252 has, for example, a red check in thefolder. An incomplete status 253 has, for example, no check mark. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 35, the “Containment Operating Level” 254 iscomplete, while the “Refuel Floor MSIVs” 256 is not.

Certain elements of a tour are now described. Tours may be createdquickly and easily if the images and maps 62 are organized indirectories before starting, for example. A tour may include, forexample:

Maps—to identify the location of the image and arrows may be used todisplay the location and direction of the image.

Arrows—to identify the location and direction of the image on the map62.

Primary Photos—images used in sequence to create a virtual tour of alocation.

Alternate Photos—images used in conjunction with the Primary Photos.These are images that would be seen in the right, left, up or downdirection while standing in the position of the Primary image.

Reverse Photos—images used in conjunction with the Primary Photos. Theseare the images that are 180° from the direction of the Primary Photo.

Components—images in a tour may contain components that may be viewed ingreater detail. Locators may be placed around these components toidentify them. When the mouse is clicked while the cursor is inside thelocator, a more detailed image of the component may be displayed.

One example of the steps that may be used to create a new tour includesexecuting the following procedure.

1. On the menu bar 96, click on File 108 and select New Tour 110 and adialog box is displayed. (This dialog box may be accessed at any time byeither right clicking on the Tour Name and selecting Edit, or byselecting the Tour Name and from the Menu Bar, selecting Edit, SelectedNode).

2. Enter a description including defaults to make tours available forviewing in the viewer 18 when they are marked as complete, which isindicated by a check mark next to the tour on the tour tree 34 and thenew tour name appears in the tour tree.

3. Select the Map node in the tour tree 34 by clicking on it, doubleclick on the Maps folder in the master image catalog in the CatalogPanel of the Editor located in the lower left corner to display theavailable map files in the directory thumbnail viewer 26.

4. In the directory thumbnail viewer 26, move the cursor over the map 62to be selected for the tour, click and hold the mouse button, drag anddrop the map 62 into the tour thumbnail viewer 26 to display theselected map 62. Multiple maps 62 may be placed into the tour thumbnailviewer 26 following the same steps. Maps 62 may be selected in the tourthumbnail viewer 30 by clicking on them. Selected items may behighlighted in green.

5. Click on the plus box next to the map 62 name in the tour tree and ifthere are multiple maps 62 in the tour, select the map 62 which maydisplay the location for the first image; and select Primary Photos inthe tour tree 34, located beneath the map 62 that was previouslyselected. The primary images should now be highlighted.

6. Double click on the folder in the master image catalog 24 thatcontains the images for the new tour to display the images that may becontained in that folder in the directory thumbnail viewer 26 and selectthe first image to be used in the tour by moving the cursor over it,click and hold the mouse button, and drag and drop the image into thetour thumbnail viewer 30.

7. When a new window opens containing the image along with thedescription and direction fields, enter the appropriate information.

8. The map 62 and an arrow may be displayed on the right side of thewindow. Drag the arrow to the location on the map 62 that matches thelocation of the image. If the arrow requires rotation, either type thedegree of rotation (1-360°) in the Arrow Angle field or move the sliderbar until the arrow is at the proper angle. The Page Up and Page Downkeys move the arrow angle by 90°. The arrow keys change the angle of thearrow by one degree up or down. The arrow also may be moved horizontallyby changing the value in the Arrow X field or vertically by changing thevalue in the Arrow Y field. Overlays also may be added at this time.When finished, click on OK. Further, if the slider is selected, thearrow keys on the keyboard move the arrow by one degree up or down. ThePage Up and Page Down keys move the arrow by 90°. If the Arrow X orArrow Y field is selected, the up and down arrows on the keyboardincrease or decrease the value in this field in increments of one.

9. Continue placing images in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 until thetour is complete; right click on the tour name in the tour tree andselect Change Status Complete. This allows the tour to be viewed in theviewer 16. If any changes to the tour are required after viewing, changethe status back to Incomplete and make the changes.

In order for the completed tour to loop in the viewer 16 (i.e., allowthe user to travel on a continual path, turn around at the end of theforward images, travel back through the tour in the reverse direction,and then start over again with the first forward image), each forwardimage may include a reverse image linked to it. If no reverse imageexists, duplicate reverse images may be used. The editor's 18 sampledatabase (which may not necessarily be available to individual users),also supplies an image, which may be inserted wherever the reverse imageis not available.

Information about a map 62 may be edited when the map 62 is catalogedfor the first time. It also may be edited at any time by right clickingon the map 62 name in the tour tree 34 or by right clicking on the map62 in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 and, in either case, selecting Edit.With reference back to FIG. 30, a form 220 is displayed. When the map 62is used for the first time in the editor 18 or when it is edited, aDescription 222 of the map 62 may be required. Information for theBuilding 224, Area 226, and Compass 228 fields may be typed in orselected from existing choices by clicking on the drop-down arrows andselecting the choice. Selecting OK saves the information while selectingCancel closes without saving.

With reference now to FIG. 36, while information about an image 262 maygenerally be entered when the image 262 is placed in a tour, suchinformation also may be edited at any time by right clicking on theimage file name in the tour tree 34 or by right clicking on thethumbnail image 42B in the tour thumbnail viewer 30 and, in either case,selecting Edit. Accordingly, the Edit Primary Photo Information screen260 appears. The user then completes any changes that are required andmay click OK to save the changes or may click on Cancel to exit the Editscreen 260 without saving changes. Overlays may be added from theoverlay toolbar, the map 62 arrow may be adjusted, and the descriptionand direction may be edited.

Several different color properties may be available and may be editedfor the tour lines and the tour points. These properties may be editedin the editor's 18 initialization file under the Color section. A firstkey word value may determine the color of the currently selected tourline. A second key word value may determine the color of all the othertour lines. A third key word value may determine the color of the tourpoint of the currently selected tour line. A fourth key word value maydetermine the color of tour points in the non-selected tours. A fifthkey word value may determine the color of the border around each tourpoint of the currently selected tour. Finally, a sixth key word valuemay determine the color of the border around the tour points in thenon-selected tours.

In one embodiment of the present invention, components may be linked toa tour after they are cataloged. Cataloged components are images thatcontain more detail of the component than the image that is being usedin the current tour, Once an image has been added to a tour, a catalogedcomponent may be linked to it. Accordingly, a locator may be placedaround the component on the tour image. When the cursor is moved overthe locator, the cursor may change to a hand, for example. If the userclicks on the component in the locator, the cataloged component imagemay be displayed. Right clicking inside the locator displays the option“Show Notes.” If notes are available for the component within thelocator, they may be displayed when Show Notes is selected. One imagemay contain multiple component links but each locator may be linked onlyto one component.

One example of the steps that may be used to link a component to animage in a tour includes executing the following procedure:

1. Locate the tour image in the tour tree that contains the component.Display it in the tour thumbnail viewer by clicking on it.

2. Display the Edit Photo Information Form by either (1) right clickingon the image name in the tour tree and selecting Edit, or (2) rightclicking on the image in the tour thumbnail viewer and selecting Edit.

3. Click on the red elliptically shaped button at the top left side ofthe window.

4. Click on the area of the image where the locator will be placed. Anellipse will be displayed with eight handles (tiny squares) around it.These handles are used to resize the ellipse to the size and shape thatwill encircle the component.

5. To change the shape of the ellipse, move the cursor over one of thehandles until it changes to a double arrow. Click and hold the leftmouse button and drag the cursor to change the shape of the ellipse. Anyof the handles may be used to change the shape of the ellipse.

6. To move the ellipse to another location, move the cursor over theellipse until it changes into a hand. Click and hold the left mousebutton. Drag the ellipse to the desired location.

7. Right click on the locator and select Link to Component from theoptions. This displays the Select Component Form. Click on the drop-downarrow to display the list of components that have been cataloged andselect the component. This is the image that is displayed when thelocator is clicked on during a tour.

Characteristics of the locator may be altered by right clicking on thelocator and selecting one or more of the following:

Change color—may allow the selection of the color of the locator;

Change type—may allow the selection of the shape of the locator;

Change Pen Width—may allow the selection of the width of the line thatis used, “1” being the thinnest and “5” being the thickest;

Change Pen Style—may allow selection of the type of line used, i.e.,dashes, dots, solid, etc. This may be available as an option when thePen Width is set at “1”;

Change Handles—may allow the handles of the locator to appear as a solidsquare or clear (the background shows through);

Bring to Front—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. Sometimes objects may be placed on top ofanother object so that the objects on the bottom layer are partiallycovered. Right clicking on the bottom object and selecting Bring toFront will move the bottom object to the top layer to allow it to bemoved or modified more easily;

Send to Back—objects may be placed on the image in layers in the orderin which they are created. Sometimes one object may be placed on top ofanother so that the object on the bottom layer cannot be clicked on tomove or alter. Right clicking on the top object and selecting Send toBack moves the top object to the bottom layer and allows the bottomobject to move up a layer and to be modified or moved; and

Delete—this may be used to delete the selected locator.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the editor 18 mayinclude certain security features. For example, one embodiment of theeditor 18 may include a security designation for each asset such as, forexample, each tour, picture, map, and component cataloged in the system.The editor 18, for example, may enable the assignment of a single ormultiple level security designation for each tout, picture, map, andcomponent cataloged in the system. The assigned security designation maybe a two-level security designation, for example. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, when the user is running the editor 18, theassigned security designation of each asset may be compared to anauthorization of the user to determine whether or not the asset isdisplayed.

FIG. 37 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of editingportions of an interactive image video tour according to one embodimentof the present invention. The process may initiate at block 300 wherethe visual tour program interface, via the tour thumbnail viewer 30,displays a thumbnail view of an image associated with a predeterminedfacility in a first portion of the editor 18, such as for example, thedirectory panel 20. The image being stored in the database 14 in theform of a data file comprising image data. At block 302, the thumbnailview of the image may be selected from the database 14. At block 304,the selected thumbnail view of the image is transferred to a secondportion of the editor 18, such as for example the tour panel 22. Atblock 306, the selected thumbnail view of the image may be positioned ina predetermined order according to a tour layout plan of thepredetermined facility within the second portion of the editor 18, thepredetermined order corresponding to a position of the image within thetour layout of an interactive image video tour of the predeterminedfacility.

A directory of the image may be displayed in the first portion of theeditor 18. The directory may include a hierarchical representation offolders for organizing a plurality of images into separate groups. Atour map 62 corresponding to the thumbnail view of the image may beprovided contained in the second portion of the editor 18 foridentifying a location of the image within the interactive image videotour. Alternate images to the interactive image video tour may beprovided for achieving any of an up, down, left or right view of aselected image within the interactive image video tour. The alternateimages may be linked to any other image associated with the interactiveimage video tour. Arrows may be provided to the interactive image videotour. In one embodiment of the present invention, the arrows may beprovided on a tour map for identifying a location of the image withinthe interactive image video tour. In another embodiment of the presentinvention, the arrows may be provided on a tour map for identifyinglinks associated with other interactive image video tours.

Several overlays in any combination may be provided to the image videotour. Examples of overlays include a component overlay, which may belinked to another interactive image video tour, for example, an ARMoverlay, and/or a CAM overlay. Other functions may be incorporatedwithin the interactive image video tour such as directional paths,hyperlinks for traveling from one tour map to another tour map, tourlines in a tour map for indicating a location of the image within theinteractive image video tour, and tour points in a tour map 62 forindicating a location of the image within the interactive image videotour.

Primary images may be provided to the interactive image video tour whereeach of the primary images may include a plurality of alternate imagesreferenced thereto. In one embodiment of the present invention, thearrow positions may be coordinated to the primary image for coordinatingthe position of the plurality of alternative images referencing theprimary image. Further, in one embodiment of the present invention thecoordinating arrows associated with the coordinating arrow positions maybe auto-positioned and rotated when adding the alternate images to theimage video tour.

A tour map associated with one interactive image video tour may bedesignated as a site plan for a plurality of interactive image videotours and a hyperlink from the tour map of the one interactive videotour may be provided to tour maps associated with other interactiveimage video tours.

Components may be provided to the interactive image video tour where thecomponents may include images having greater detail than the imageswithin the interactive image video tour. In one embodiment, thecapabilities of the components associated with the interactive imagevideo tour may be cataloged. Further, in one embodiment of the presentinvention, the components may be searched according to any of acomponent identification, system or type.

FIG. 38 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of creating andediting portions of an interactive image video tour. At block 400, adata file stored in the image database 14 may be transferred to a memoryof a computer. The image database 14 may contain a plurality of datafiles representing a plurality of images associated with an interactiveimage video tour of a predetermined facility and each of the pluralitiesof data files may include image data for displaying an image associatedwith a portion of the predetermined facility on a viewer associated withthe computer. At block 402, a thumbnail view of the image may bedisplayed in a first portion of the editor 18 such as a directory panel20. At block 404, the thumbnail view of the image may be dragged fromthe first portion of the editor 18 to a second portion of the editor 18such as the tour panel 22. At block 406 the thumbnail view of the imagemay be positioned in a predetermined position according to a tour layoutplan of the predetermined facility in the second portion of the imageeditor. At block 408 the image selected for use in the interactive imagevideo tour of the predetermined facility may be displayed in the secondportion of the image editor.

FIG. 39 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of editingportions of an interactive image video tour according to one embodimentof the present invention. At block 500, a data file comprising imagedata may be selected and an image associated therewith may be displayedon a display terminal of a computer. The data file may be stored in theimage database 14 and may contain a plurality of images for creating aninteractive image video tour of a predetermined facility. At block 502one aspect of the image data contained in the selected data file may bemodified.

While several embodiments of the invention have been described, itshould be apparent, however, that various modifications, alterations,and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in theart with the attainment of some or all of the advantages of the presentinvention. The above description, therefore, is intended to cover allsuch modifications, alterations, and adaptations without departing fromthe scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of editing portions of an interactive image video tour,comprising: selecting a data file comprising image data and displayingan image associated therewith on a computer, the data file being storedin an image database containing a plurality of images for creating aninteractive image video tour of a predetermined facility; and modifyingone aspect of the image data contained in the selected data file.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein selecting an image data file includesselecting a thumbnail view of the image associated with the image datafile.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the imageassociated with the image data file in a first portion of the imageeditor.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first portion of the imageeditor is a directory panel.
 5. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising displaying a thumbnail view of the image in the first portionof the image editor.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprisingselecting the thumbnail view of the image within the first portion ofthe image editor.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising draggingthe selected thumbnail view of the image to a second portion of theimage editor.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second portion ofthe image editor is a tour panel.
 9. A computer-readable mediumcontaining instructions for controlling a computer system to perform amethod for editing an interactive image video tour, the methodcomprising: selecting a data file comprising image data and displayingan image associated therewith on a display terminal of a computer, thedata file being stored in an image database containing a plurality ofimages for creating an interactive image video tour of predeterminedfacility; and modifying one aspect of the image data contained in theselected data file.